Salting the diced tomato drains off excess water, concentrating the flavor and improving the texture.
Sprinkling the fried eggplant with salt while it’s still hot ensures that it will adhere.
Falafel may get all the attention, but the sabich, another popular Tel Aviv snack food, has won my heart. Filled with moist slices of fried eggplant, hard-boiled egg, a generous layer of creamy hummus, crunchy Israeli pickles, and Israeli salad, and drizzled with tahini sauce and amba, a pickled-mango sauce, it’s all you could want in any sandwich, and more.
Ingredients
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2 plum tomatoes (7 ounces; 200g), cored and diced
Kosher salt
Olive oil or vegetable oil, for frying
3/4 pound Italian eggplant (about 1 medium eggplant; 350g), sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
1/2 large seedless cucumber (7 ounces; 200g), diced
2 tablespoons (30ml) fresh juice from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cored head cabbage (7 ounces; 200g), thinly shredded
2 tablespoons (30ml) white wine vinegar
4 fresh rounds pita bread, warmed and split just enough to form a pocket
3/4 cup homemade or store-bought hummus (6 ounces; 170g)
1/2 cup (120ml) homemade or store-bought tahini sauce (note that tahini and tahini sauce are different products)
4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced
Israeli pickles, for serving (see note)
Amba sauce, for serving (see note)
